Published on Jul 17 2011 by MKA Midlands Ishaat team

MKA Birmingham Central arranged a trip to the Lake District for a weekend on the 25th and 26th of June 2011. The total attendance was 19 with 16 Khuddam and 3 Atfal. The chief organiser of the trip was Qaid Majlis. Mazher Butt Sahib was responsible for the catering arrangement and Masroor Ahmed Sahib looked after the transport arrangements and planned the visit. Mohammad Azeem Sahib was given responsibility for arranging the camping. All interested members were advised to pay a £20 deposit in advance to confirm their seat.
Most of the shopping for the trip was done in Birmingham and a gas cylinder, burner and sleeping mattresses were borrowed from Darul Barakaat Mosque. Kashif Waheed Sahib loaned us a big tent which was enough to accomodate all members for a night on the beautiful camping site in Keswick Cumbria.
 
The full planning of the trip was finalized in a Majlis-e-Amila meeting a week before the set-off date. Originally 23 members were confirmed but a few dropped out the last minute as they decided to travel to Germany for Jalsa Salana. Initially we decided to hire a large minibus but due to higher cost it was decided to travel by two cars and two seven seater MPVs.
A few Khuddam spent Friday night in Darul Barkaat and they cooked Byryani after Fajr for lunch and dinner.
 
Two cars and one seven seater MPV full of members and luggage left Darul Barkaat at 8am on Saturday Morning after silent prayer. There was a funny moment for the whole group just before leaving when Saboor Sahib made an appearance fully equipped to fight the cold weather and said 'I want to go as well' - so we had to re-arrange the luggage to make space for him.
 
We reached Windermere Lake at 11am and spent 3-4 hours including 45 minutes for a lake cruise in a ship and ate Byryani in a nearby park which we brought with us from Darul Barkaat. At 3pm we left for Keswick where we booked a camping site. After travelling through the beautiful hills and along the lakes we reached the camping site at 4pm where we erected our tent and offered combined Zuhr and Asr prayer in congregation. Mazher Butt  Sahib made tea with the help of Khuddam and after taking tea we left to visit another lake which was 20 miles from the camp site. We spent two hours  at this spot walking along the lake then we returned to our camp and found the camp site very busy as there were a good number of tents. We offered Maghrib and Ishaa prayers in congregation after that we were once again served with Byryani followed by Mangoes. Then, as expected, Khuddam casually divided into small groups and engaged in general discussion about their life experiences. The atmosphere outside the tents was pleasant and discussion continued until midnight.
 
Our next day started with Fajr prayer. We had a short sleep after Fajr and the Ziafat team prepared breakfast at 8:00am. Breakfast consisted of boiled eggs, bread, fruit juice and tea. We packed up from the camping site at 10am and left for the seaside which was 45 miles away. After spending an hour on the seaside we reached a beautiful hill point near Ullswater where Wadood Sahib and Israr Sahib joined us with the BBQ material. Between the hills we managed to find a suitable place along the roadsise for the BBQ. After having a BBQ lunch and tea we left for Ullswater lake where we spent 2 hours walking and talking along the beautiful lake but our budget did not allow us another lake cruise.
At 7pm we ended this historic trip and left for Darul Barkaat where we reached just before Maghrib/Ishaa prayer. After offering Maghrib and Ishaa prayers in congregation we had a final meeting to findout the well being of every participant and then everyone left for their homes to get ready for the next working day.
 
All participants enjoyed this trip which proved a great source of joy and brotherhood for all Khuddam and Atfal who attended. The brothers who were unable to go missed a great opportunity of joy and adventure.